Douglas Squirrel eating a nut from a pine tree
Whenever someone mentions squirrels, I shudder and remember the time that a bunch of Eastern Grey Squirrels made a home in the attic above the room where I was sleeping. Every night (until I got someone to shoo them out) about three or four in the morning I would hear them rustle about and it was like fingernails on a chalkboard. Apparently, they had ripped a hole in the eaves and taken cover.
Eastern Grey Squirrel
Eastern Grey Squirrels have been advancing in several areas of BC including Vancouver Island and as far east as Kelowna. Recently, there has been some concern of the effect of these squirrels on the endangered Garry Oak ecosystems on Vancouver Island. Garry Oaks, in case you might not know, grow only on the southern tip of the Island.
What once started out as just a few squirrels that escaped a game farm in Metchosin in 1966 has exploded to a population that has put the tiny native Douglas squirrels in peril. Whereas Douglas Squirrels prefer conifers, the Greys will eat just about anything, including bird eggs. The Douglas squirrels do not eat the acorns of the Garry Oak trees, whereas the Greys bite the acorns preventing them from sprouting. Another problem is that they like to strip the bark from trees which is especially damaging to the Garry Oaks which are then susceptible to disease.
The provincial government has set up a squirrel hotline at 1-250-751-3100. I phoned it and the line was busy and the mailbox was full. Hmmm, maybe the Grey Squirrels have taken over? (Photo thanks to National Geographic)
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Tags: BC, Eastern Grey Squirrels, Garry Oak, habitat, invasive species, squirrels
A little correction – there are no Douglas squirrels on Vancouver Island, only north american red squirrels (Tamisciurus hudsonicus) – cousins to Douggies who are found on the mainland east to the Cascades (after which it’s reds again throughout much of North America). Greys and reds coexist where they are both native – e.g., Ontario, New York, etc and where reds have invaded (e.g., Indiana), reds are replacing greys and threaten recruitment of nut bearing trees (see UBC’s Jake Goheen’s research papers…). As you elude, it’s more about suitable habitat (rather than interaction between squirrels species) that determines ‘who’s the boss’.
I grew up where grey squirrels are native. They prefer living in/around oak trees for the acorns. I don’t recall ever having heard of them “stripping” bark from an oak which is a tough enough job on a mature oak for a human. I’m not pleased they are here as an invasive species in Victoria region. But I do like eating them!